Skip to main content

In Memoriam | Spring 2019

In Memoriam: 1950s

Notices sorted by graduation date

William B. “Bill” Lucas (Law ’50 L/M) of Raleigh, North Carolina, died Nov. 29, 2018. He attended the College of William and Mary prior to enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1942 at age 17. He completed the Navy V-12 officer training program and served as the executive officer on a tank landing ship in the Pacific Theater and in the occupation force of Japan. After his service, he completed his degree and went on to earn a law degree from UVA. He worked as legal counsel for Fieldcrest Mills in Eden, North Carolina, and as general counsel for Wheat, First Securities in Richmond, Virginia, before retiring in 1989. Survivors include his wife, Ann; daughter Jane Lucas Smith (Com ’77 L/M); two sons; and five grandchildren.


John J. Loflin (Col ’51 L/M) of Easton, Maryland, died Oct. 11, 2018. He served in the U.S. Air Force before attending UVA, then went on to earn his law degree from Columbia University Law School in 1955. He lived in Rye, New York, for 35 years and worked for the firm Kelley Drye; the firm Lord Day and Lord, Barrett Smith; and the city of New York. He argued many cases in his career, including two before the U.S. Supreme Court. His work took him around the world, including to England, Lebanon and Japan, before he and his wife retired to Maryland in 1994. Mr. Loflin’s childhood on the Gulf Coast contributed to a lifelong love of boats, swimming, fishing and the ocean. He enjoyed sailing and tennis, travel, awful puns and celebrating with family and friends. He was known for his kindness, generosity and fairness. Mr. Loflin was predeceased by his first wife, Bonnie Green Loflin. Survivors include his wife, Ann Henry Loflin; five children; and 11 grandchildren.


James W. “Dick” Riddell (Law ’51) of McLean, Virginia, died Sept. 5, 2018. He grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and enlisted in the Marine Corps a week after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He served in the 1st Marine Division beginning with the Guadalcanal campaign and received a bronze star for action on Peleliu. He returned to Parris Island, South Carolina, in 1945 as a drill instructor preparing new recruits for the expected invasion of Japan. After graduating from UVA, he worked at the U.S. Tax Court before moving to Capitol Hill to serve as tax counsel to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee. There, among other accomplishments, he drafted the legislation creating the funding for the U.S. Interstate Highway System. After serving on the Hill, he entered private practice in Washington, D.C., and specialized in corporate taxation. He was an accomplished gardener, avid fisherman, woodworking enthusiast, bird hunter, history buff and opera aficionado. He loved dogs, wild trout, Virginia, Paris, the American West, wildflowers and, above all, his family. Survivors include his wife, Helen Murphy Riddell (Educ ’50 L/M); a son, Richard Riddell (Col ’82 L/M); a daughter; and five grandchildren.


F. Lewis “Lew” Barroll Jr. (Col ’52 L/M) of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, died Aug. 18, 2018. At UVA, he was a manager of the football team, a resident of the Lawn, and a member of Delta Phi fraternity (St. Elmo Hall), T.I.L.K.A. and the IMP Society. Having served as a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer in the Korean War, Mr. Barroll had a strong sense of duty to his country. He spent 36 years at Ford Motor Co. as an executive in the European and South American markets. His first and most fortuitous assignment was in Brussels, Belgium, where he was introduced to his wife. After time in Belgium and Detroit, they settled permanently in Grosse Pointe Farms in 1972. A member of the Society of the Cincinnati, he was proud of the Americans who came before him, and he enjoyed visiting Revolutionary War battle sites. Mr. Barroll was a loyal and trusted friend who was devoted to his family, which he considered his proudest achievement. Survivors include his wife, Wendy; two daughters, including Patricia Barroll Sellman (Col ’86); and five grandchildren.


Richard B. “Dick” Britton (Col ’53 L/M) of Charlottesville died Oct. 3, 2018. He served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955 before returning to the University to do graduate work and work for the Research Laboratory for Engineering Sciences. His work for the Ion Physics Corp. in Burlington, Massachusetts, took the family to the Boston area and then to Long Island, where he worked on superconducting magnets at Brookhaven National Laboratory. He held several patents in the areas of superconductivity and mechanical design. He became fascinated with cars at a young age, and they remained an important part of his personal and professional life. At age 15, he built a car for only $45 using a Model T chassis, and he drove it 2,000 miles to Montreal and back, as covered by the Daily Progress in 1948. One year prior, he represented Charlottesville in the National Soap Box Derby in Akron, Ohio. Inventing improvements to the internal combustion engine and machining them himself in his shop was a lifelong passion. Survivors include a son, a daughter, two grandchildren and two sisters.


Richard Irwin Miller (Col ’54 L/M) of Norfolk, Virginia, died June 24, 2018. While at UVA, he was a member of ROTC as a Jefferson Sabre and president of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Army as a platoon leader at the North Pole, among other duty stations. He was the general manager of the family-owned business Ocean View Amusement Park in Norfolk and of Seaside Amusement Park in Virginia Beach, which he owned along with Delmar Propane Gas and Cleveland Street Bingo. Mr. Miller enjoyed attending local sporting events, and he supported many of the arts organizations in Hampton Roads, including Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Virginia Stage Company. He served on the board of directors for the Virginia Opera and proudly performed in the group scenes of three opera performances. He loved traveling, going to the movies, breakfast on Sundays at Pocahontas and his 40-year tradition of Tuesday night poker with friends. Mr. Miller was a tower of strength to his extended family and welcomed everyone to his proverbial family table. Survivors include a son; two daughters, including Dorianne Miller Villani (Col ’80 L/M); seven grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; and a sister.


Ronald T. Buckingham (Col ’57, Law ’60 L/M) of Jacksonville, Florida, died Sept. 11, 2018. After earning his law degree, he and his wife moved to Jacksonville, where Mr. Buckingham began a career of nearly 60 years with the firms Jennings, Watts, Clarke and Hamilton; Matthews Osborne and Ehrlich; and Milne and Buckingham. He was known among his colleagues and clients as a man of unwavering honesty, integrity, fairness and loyalty. Active in his church and a founder of the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, he served as a Faith Alive coordinator and supported many local and national charities. Mr. Buckingham treasured his Saturday mornings with Saturday Experiment, his monthly lunch gatherings with Honey-Do’s and watching sports on TV with his best buddies. He was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox, and Ted Williams was one of his heroes. Above all, he cherished his family. Survivors include his wife, Catherine Brooke; two children; and two grandchildren.


Glenn J. Eckard (Engr ’58) of Oak Harbor, Washington, died Oct. 25, 2018. After serving two years in the U.S. Navy, where he met and married his wife, he moved to the Seattle area to work for the Boeing Co. as an engineer. He earned a master of aeronautics and astronautics degree from the University of Washington in 1965. He retired from Boeing in 1994 after 34 years. Survivors include two sons, a grandson and his sister.


Warren Page Brubaker (Educ ’59 L/M) of Luray, Virginia, died July 3, 2018. At UVA, he was a member of the Glee Club and student council. Mr. Brubaker taught math in public schools of Virginia, including Albemarle, Lunenburg and Frederick counties, for 13 years and served on or chaired the Shenandoah County School Board for more than four years. He was licensed as a lay minister with the Virginia Christian Missionary Society in 1958. After earning his bachelor’s in divinity in 1963 from what is now Lexington Theological Seminary, he was ordained at Luray Christian Church. He served congregations in Kentucky and Virginia for 43 years and with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). After retiring in 2002, he served more than three years in interim ministries. Survivors include his wife, Virginia Belle Tharpe (Nurs ’59 L/M); a daughter; son, David Warren Brubaker (Col ’85 L/M); six grandchildren; two sisters; and three brothers.